Back to Basic Definitions
Page | Back
to Main FAQ Page
Subject: A19) What does ATCF stand for and how are tropical cyclones
numbered?
Contributed by Neal Dorst
The Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast (ATCF) system was developed for
the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in 1988. This is a software package used
to plot tropical cyclone information and assist in the generation of forecast
messages. In order to distinguish different tropical cyclones that might be
occurring simultaneously, a distinct alphanumeric code is assigned to each
cyclone as it develops. This code system was adopted by other warning
centers in order to facilitate the passing of storm information and reduce
confusion.
The code designation consists of two letters designating the oceanic basin
("AL" for Atlantic, "EP" for Eastern Pacific, "CP" for Central Pacific
and "WP" for Western Pacific), a two-digit number designating the sequential
number of that particular cyclone for that basin in the year, and lastly
a four-digit year number. So the first depression to form in the Atlantic
for 2001 would be AL012001, the third depression for the Central Pacific
in 1999 would be CP031999.
A cyclone retains its ATCF code designation as long as it remains a
distinct tropical vortex. Even if it becomes a named Tropical Storm or
Hurricane the software will still track it by its ATCF code.
References
Miller, R.J., J. Schrader, C.R. Sampson, and T.L. Tsui, 1990, "The Automated
Tropical Cyclone Forecasting Sytem (ATCF)",Weather and Forecasting,
Vol. 5, (Dec. 1990), p. 653-660
Revised August 14, 2009
Back to Basic Definitions
Page | Back
to Main FAQ Page
|